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Grand Strategy in the Real World

When the Cold War order broke down, and Iraq invaded Kuwait, Brent Scowcroft served as an ‘honest broker’ among factions, though his own cautious realism often won the day.

By

Hal Brands

Jan. 23, 2015 5:50 p.m. ET

Strategy is where vision and action come together. In the realm of foreign policy, a good strategy demands clear thinking about long-term goals and objectives—about what a country ultimately seeks to achieve in the world. Yet it also requires an ability to translate that vision into the concrete, day-to-day initiatives that move the ship of state progressively closer to its destination. Strategy is therefore about implementation no less than conception. It is operational as well as aspirational.